Unfortunately, this is no November Fool's Day joke. Butterball, the leading producer of those turkeys we all know and love, has a smaller stock of large fresh Butterball turkeys, 16 pounds or more, this year. The company assures customers and retailers, however, this is only for their fresh turkeys over 16 pounds and does not impact their supply of frozen or lower-weight fresh Butterballs. The shortage is limited to Butterball and does not affect any other turkey brands.

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According to one retailer, Butterball informed them last week, after they had placed their order in June, that their fresh 16-pound-plus turkey order had been cut by 50 percent. This news caused many supermarkets to scramble. Guy McFarlane, Big Y's vice president of fresh foods, informed Big Y shoppers in a press release: "All of us at Big Y will do our best to ensure that our customers have a wonderful turkey for their Thanksgiving meal. Our butchers stand ready to assist customers not only with their turkey selection but cooking tips as well. We are confident that everyone will be happy with their meal." In their press release, the Massachusetts supermarket chain said they would not take any more orders for the large fresh Butterballs.

According to CNN, Americans serve roughly 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving, with 88 percent of all Americans feasting on the bird. There are more than 248 million turkeys raised each year in the U.S. Butterball receives the brunt of the cooking questions, with 12,000 callers expected on the big day.

Are you preparing a fresh or frozen turkey for Thanksgiving? Did you plan to purchase a fresh Butterball that was more than 16 pounds?